CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine 53
52 winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine
Matt Hoidal
continues to enjoy Casco, Maine,
where he is the executive director of Camp Sun-
shine. Last summer, Matt hosted Oraene Morgan
’13 as an intern at the camp.
Peter Saunders
wrote that he and Christine
moved to Minneapolis two years ago, where they
work at rival private schools. “I am the director of
academic technology at Breck and she is a depart-
ment chair at Blake,” he explained. They have two
daughters, Eva, 4, and Aurie, 7 months, who keep
them very busy.
A perennial educator,
Alisa Scott
works exten-
sively in the big outdoors. An inner- city earth
science teacher for 10 years, Alisa is an interpre-
tive park ranger for the Boston Harbor Islands
National Recreation Area. She takes visitors to
Boston Light (the country’s oldest light house sta-
tion) and leads history and kayak tours. This win-
ter she’ll be living and working in Big Sky, Mont.
D.J. Monette
lives in Belchertown, Mass., with
wife Stacy and two children, Kya and Koy. D.J. is
active in Native American policy-making, cur-
rently detailed as the Native American liaison to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters in
Arlington,Va.
Jen McCue Johnson
runs the Oswego County
Guinea Pig Rescue, the only one in the Syracuse,
N.Y., area. She runs the rescue service from her
farm, where she has helped other unwanted ani-
mals like goats, dogs and even a donkey. Some-
day soon, Jen aims to plant grapes and start a
winery.
For many of us the St. Lawrence international
study programs were transformative, but particu-
larly for
Robin Brumm Harrison
. During her se-
nior year on the London program, Robin met her
husband. Shortly after graduating, Robin went
back to the UK to work for the BBC (and presum-
ably to see her guy). Nowmarried for 18 years, she
and her husband have left London for the South
Coast suburbs where they live with Henry, 4. She
writes that she is “fairly suburban and middle
aged, but happy.”
Kim “Ann” Thornton
can stitch a line from her
year in France to her job today as the director of
foundation relations at the National Trust for His-
toric Preservation. She has been with the trust for
five years, after 10 years with preservation and
economic development organizations in New
York City. Kim earned her master’s in city planning
fromUPenn. At this issue’s deadline, she was plan-
ning her wedding for this winter. We look forward
to an update on those nuptials!
Some of us finished a St. Lawrence study abroad
program and are now essentially running one. My
brother
Nima Massoomi
continues to live the
dream as an oral surgeon in San Francisco. Nima
has a faculty appointment at the University of Pa-
cific and this fall will help shuttle 30 students to
Jamaica for a study abroad experience.
Three of our classmates are active artists andwin-
ning accolades. On theWest Coast,
Britt Richards
Freda
is a full-time artist, and in the fall of 2012,
her owl painting titled“Luminous Barn”received a
national award and was selected by the National
Museum of Wildlife Art for addition to its perma-
nent collection. Britt lives on an island in Puget
Sound, near Seattle, with her son Hatcher, 8, and
daughter Paloma,“a super, sweet, silly 6-year-old.”
Edie Patterson Brown
also works as an artist
but from the Syracuse, N.Y., area. Her husband
Brownie (Steve Brown ’93) is an OB/GYN and they
have three children, Ren (7th Grade), Ella (5th
Grade) and Ford (2nd Grade).
Ken Lally
continues to impress us with his dra-
matic talents. He has been in a series of films, act-
ing and doing stunts alongside Dolph Lundgren,
Vinnie Jones, Billy Zane and most recently with
MMA stars Randy Coulture and Cung Li. Ken con-
tinues work in film and video, with a new pirate
movie in production now.
Habari Gani?
(Swahili for "What's the News?")
I was saddened to read of the passing of
Paul Stevenson ’83
(KSP ’81) in
the summer 2013 magazine. We met on campus in 2004 and he had previ-
ously written in this column that "The KSP was a cornerstone of my SLU
education. My time in Kenya still influences my work and life.”
Conant Neville ’14
(KSP spring ’13) was the recipient of a Macdonald Fel-
lowship that allowed him to spend the summer as a news intern at North
Country Public Radio. His posts, available at
-
licradio.org/allin/author/conantneville/, covered life in the North Country
and his experience in Kenya. Speaking of his senior year, Conant said,“I plan
to take the Foreign Service Officer Test in February and would love to return
to Africa or elsewhere to travel, explore and further my understanding of
cultures and people abroad. I plan to orient my senior thesis toward the
work I started in Kenya during my IDS, which involves coastal ecotourism
experiments.”Conant was also excited to report that his host sister from his
KSP urban homestay is a freshman on campus this year.
Kat Bagley ’07
(KSP spring ’05) is a journalist with InsideClimate News, a
non-profit environmental news organization based in Brooklyn. She writes,
“I cover climate change, specifically the intersection of climate science,
politics, and the political and public debate over the issue. It is definitely an
interesting beat, and one specifically sparked by my time in Kenya and at
SLU! I am also an adjunct instructor at Barnard University, where I teach un-
dergraduates how to write about and communicate environmental issues.”
Kathleen Colson ’79
(KSP spring ’78), founder and CEO of The BOMA
Project (
, writes that BOMA had two St, Lawrence
interns last summer and hosted another KSP intern in the spring. She an-
nounced a $1.9 million grant, over three years, from the UK’s Department
for International Development “that will give us access to two years of de-
sign work and mentoring to try and take our model to scale across the arid
lands.”She was also named a Rainer Arnhold Fellow.
Abigail Martin
(KSP spring ‘13 by way of Hamilton College) produced a
news segment for VOA Africa on vaccinating dogs against rabies in East Af-
rica. This opportunity came during a summer internship she held at VOA
in Washington, D.C. Listen to the segment at
/
audio/audio/300240.html).
Anna Larson ’05
(KSP fall ’03) writes, “I’m still teaching third grade at the
Children's Storefront School in East Harlem.Totally love the job and the kids!
Stephan and I spent the summer at my grandparents’house on Grindstone
Island on the St. Lawrence River and got engaged.”
After spending the summer in northern Tanzania leading a program for
National Geographic Student Expeditions,
Katie Gauthier Donnelly ’04
(KSP fall ’02) traveled in Kenya andTanzania with her mother, Beverly Gauth-
ier, who is communications coordinator at St. Lawrence’s admissions office.
They visited KSP Co-Director
Wairimu Ndirangu
and former St. Lawrence
Kenyan scholar
Alice Lenanyokie ’07
and her family.
Jessie Davie ’04
(KSP fall ’02) and her husband are the new parents of
a baby boy born in August. Jessie is the communications lead for Maliasili
Initiatives
), an international NGO that works with natural
resource-oriented civil society organizations in East Africa. They live in The
Hague, Netherlands.
Steve Alexander ’03
(KSP fall ’02), Marianne and their son Arlo spent
three months last fall in Jamaica, where Steve is conducting doctoral re-
search for his studies at the University of Waterloo.
An August article in
Inside Higher Ed
reports on the unique connection St.
Lawrence has with Kenya:
/
look-st-lawrence-universitys-study-abroad-program-kenya.
John Linsley ’04 (KSP fall ’02)
169 Perkins Row |Topsfield, MA 01983 | (978) 500-6342 |
Many classmates see each other annually for
get-togethers.
Deb Kmon Davidson, Krista
WoodburyMatthes, Nicole SpiethMartin, Ali-
son Rockwell
and
Gretchen LeBoutillier
met
in September 2012 for an all-girls gathering in
Boulder, Col. The trip coincided with the Colorado
floods, but the group went to Winter Park and a
Lumineers concert at Red Rocks. Deb is at home
in Bozeman, Mont., Nicole in Barrington, R.I., and
Ali, Krista and Gretchen in Boulder.
Michelle Tobin Hoagland
is married with two
boys and living in the suburbs of Massachusetts.
She works in a brokerage firm, selling municipal
bonds. She was at Laura Brink’s wedding in late
2012, and also keeps in touch with
Angie Finelli
Regan
(North Carolina) and
Heather Garrow
Mulholland
(Glens Falls, N.Y).
Meredith Menzies Chimento
, her husband,
Christopher, and
Laurie Warrin
and
Nick West
spent a fabulous week camping on an island in
Lake George, N.Y., with their combined five chil-
dren. She reported on a fantastic time with plenty
of cliff-jumping, water skiing and swimming—in-
cluding a low point, which was when Laurie and
Nick's tent was stolen! Meredith lives in Albany,
N.Y., and has two girls, Piper, 9, and Addison, 6. She
is the vice president of community impact for the
UnitedWay, having previously served as executive
director of a YMCA.
Karen Moran
and husband
Brian Pickard
live
in Maryland with their two sons (8 and 12) and
a nutty yellow lab. Karen visits with a group of
her Pi Phi sisters each summer, a group that usu-
ally includes
Kim McGrath Collins, Vicki Telfer
Rees, Ann “Bart” Bartholomew Buckley,
Nancy Callahan Humphreys, Hannah Sid-
ney Mitchell, Delaney DiStefano Higgs
and
Heather Crandell Ashford ’95. Karen added that
“When we get together, it's just like living in the
HoP (House of Pi) again, only no cold dorm and a
lot more parenting discussions.”
Andy Fetterman
sent praises for the last maga-
zine entry (thank you!) and a few updates. While
Andy was on travel through Atlanta this past year,
he met
Mark Ferris
and
Chris Woods
for drinks.
He is also in touch with
TomGillespie
, who man-
ages a food co-op in Albany.
We continue to have loads of classmates in
healthcare.
Scott Dickinson
is back home in
Syracuse, N.Y., where he has been promoted to
vice president of clinical support for Aspen Dental
Management Inc. Scott has two children, 9 and 5,
and a wife working on her second bachelor’s de-
gree. He remains in touch with SLU through the
lacrosse team alumni network.
Mohan Babapulle
is a cardiologist in Kitchener-
Waterloo, Ontario, moving fromMontreal in 2005.
He has not seen many Laurentians, except for Erik
Anderson ’01 in Stratford, Ontario, but looks for-
ward to the upcoming reunion.
Carol Anderson
is a social worker for the VA
Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic in Syracuse,
and last fall started her private practice in holistic
therapy. Her goal is to incorporate psychotherapy,
Reiki, meditation and essential oils into her treat-
ment programs. When she is not working she
runs after her two beagles, Abby and Sully.
Jen Koch Fischer
has been married for 15
years to an RPI grad named Phil. They have two
daughters, Abigail, 13, and Tori, 10, and live out-
side Boston, in Hopkinton. Jen and her husband
are active triathletes and marathon runners. Jen
finished her 5th half-Iron Man and aimed to run
in the NYC Marathon last fall. Professionally Jen
works at EMC as a national partner manager. No
dull moments in Jen’s household….
Jon Mairs
wrote from Chappaqua, N.Y., where
he lives with three kids, two dogs and a manny.
Jon just adopted a second child from China,
which took him and his wife from Nanchang to
Guangzhou, Hainan Island and Shanghai over the
course of two and a half weeks! He works in cor-
porate communications and investor relations at
a securities firm in NYC.
After earning her master’s in teaching from
SUNY Potsdam,
Tracie Fuller
has mainly taught
third grade at Salmon River Central School in Fort
Covington, N.Y. She is surrounded by St. Lawrence
grads. For 10 years, Ben Barkley ’99 taught in the
classroom beside hers, and Adam Schrader ’99
and Teri Wheeler Swamp ’92 teach in her district.
Tracie is an active golfer and lives with husband
Kenny Mitchell and two daughters (Kakwenies, 7,
and Kahionhataki, 4) on the Akwesanse Mohawk
Territory, from where they enjoy hiking, boating
and camping in and around the Adirondacks as
much as possible.
My dear old friend
Mara Guccione
has lived in
Berkeley, Calif., for 12 years with husband Odin,
two dogs, two cats and a recent addition – a son
named Noah. Prior to Noah's birth, Mara was
moving into veterinarymedicine after many years
as a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator and animal
welfare advocate. She spends a lot of time with
Colleen McLaughlin Komeyli
, who has two
young, beautiful boys and lives in Pacifica.
My final note is personal; I feel so fortunate to
have met
Jennifer Platten Killeen
20 years ago
this winter. I am grateful that we enjoyed these
years to outlast those coy first dates, to invest in
our two children, and to grow as individuals who
still reminisce and love, together.
Kenya Program
40th Reunion Update
Associate Professor of History and KSP
alumnus Matt Carotenuto writes,“In 2014, the
Kenya Program celebrates its 40th year. Ever
since the first trip in January 1972 evolved into
the semester program by 1974, St. Lawrence's
deep roots in East Africa have influenced the
lives of numerous individuals. We are looking
forward to the chance to bring alumni, faculty
and friends of the program together to reflect
on the past and help us kick off the next 40
years of the KSP.”
Scheduled Events Include:
Visits with current
and former KSP staff members, Kenya-themed
meals and social events, a display of KSP his-
tory, panel discussions on Kenyan history and
KSP links in the region, plenty of chai and time
to reminisce.
How Can You Help?:
Join the KSP
Facebook page (
/
groups/6790476858/) to receive regular
reunion updates, and visit the KSP reunion
web page (alumni.stlawu.edu/kenya-40th-
anniversary) to see how you can contribute a
photo or memory for the KSP Archive Project.
Most important, rally your fellow alumni for a
great turnout on campus, May 29-June 1.
As always, your news and photos are welcome.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Tutaonana!
With St. Lawrence banners galore, Lauren-
tians gathered in Enfield, Conn., last Sep-
tember. From left are host
Stuart Hosley
’68, Bridget Donahue Cooley’98, Carol
Hosley Shogren ’98,
hostess
Lorna Nich-
ols Hosley ’68, Tracy Hatch Giordano ’98,
Megan Williams ’98
and Carol's two Future
Laurentians, Katie and Luke.
Join fellow program participants for
special receptions, speakers, and more!
alumni.stlawu.edu/kenya-40th-anniversary
